Using WeCreate Vision Camera With Lightburn, and Why You Shouldn't

My WeCreat Vision (20W) modifications, including how to get the original camera to work in Lightburn (and why I do not recommend it until it is supported natively).
• Bed Clips for the knife blade bed
• Additional Lighting
• Draft table and enhanced exhaust
• Using the installed camera in Lightburn
Bed clips were easy enough - once I found someone else that had figured them out. Jekamis on Printables.com provided 3D print files.
www.printables.com/model/7354...
I recreated the files to cut out of ¼” plywood on the laser. The bits for the top and bottom required a glue up and the side clips have different lengths. I consider these to be consumable items.
The lighting is a 12V LED stripe - similar to the stock lighting. Since the inner edges of the upper portion of the Vision are curved, I was able to adhere the LEDs in one strip around three of the four sides (the back has the electronics and other components). There is one spot on the right where the flexible cable guide runs that you have to be careful of rubbing and you do need to ensure the power connector is mounted to avoid interfering with the laser travel. The power cord is run out of the unit on the back right corner where a sealed gap exists.
From Amazon:
• HitLights White LED Strip Lights 4000K
The draft table is a box with a 4-inch hole drilled out on the side for the ventilation duct and adapter. It has some internal supports that holds up peg board which supports the Vision. This allows the inline exhaust fan to draw off the bottom of the Vision. The exhaust fan is an 8-inch model - I managed a splitter and with two 4-inch suctions. The second duct I connected to the exhaust of the Vision (with a Delrin adapter for the existing exhaust connecter). The high-pitched noise of the Visions fan was even louder and was inhibiting flow. There are three screws that connect the fan retaining plate to the flexible cover and two more that hold it to the structure. To disconnect it from the controller, the control board cover needs to be removed and the PCB was labeled for the fan connector. The fan wires are run and taped behind the controller (use care near antenna wire).
From Amazon:
• VIVOSUN R8 8 Inch 720 CFM Inline Duct Ventilation Fan with Variable Speed Controller
• Polysota Fan Reducer Adapter Compatible with AC Infinity Cloudline S8 T8 Inline Duct Fans (PLS-AC86)
• 8-inch Dryer Vent Hose
Also 4-inch ducting and a 6-inch to two 4-inch duct splitter. Some ‘alterations’ were needed to get all of the exhaust components to fit.
@TheClackShack posted a video recently on how to install an after-market webcam inside his 40W Vision:
• Lightburn camera for t...
I attempted this with my AtomStack camera but it would not align well. I then decided I was going to try the recommended camera, but wanted to place it where the stock camera was - which extended into the unit and could only be removed from the top under the plastic viewing cover. The cover was adhered to the lid with several adhesive pads. Opening a gap, I was able to wedge the remainder of the cover off of the lid. One of the stock LED strips had to be shifted to remove the camera. The camera was held in place with 4 screws and the wiring connector was adhered to the camera with a red, stretchy adhesive. Once out I found the model number - QQSJ-9031-V2.0. I was able to find the original model - QQSJ-9031 - online and found that it was USB 2.0 Plug and Pray. The connector on the camera was a 5-pin 1.25mm pitch, common for connecting between internal components, but not to a USB plug - those appear to use a 1.5 or 2.0mm pitch connectors. Using an old USB 2.0 cable, a connector with wires, and soldering my own cable was created - and worked! The wire cable was routed out of the unit on the back right corner again. I was able to use this @lightburnsoftware7189 video to align that camera better (it is also a standard lens) and it is usable.
• LightBurn Camera Lens ...
All this to say, use @TheClackShack method - this was a lot more effort and risk!
From Amazon:
• 1.25mm Pitch Connectors and Pre-Crimped Cables Compatible with JST Molex PicoBlade (These were not an exact match - they did not include the keying on the board connector - but the needed connector did fit. Still on the lookout for a better connector though.)
Added notes:
1. The macro I use for Autofocus is from @SteveMakesEverything.
Macro: M130X200Y150
• Wecreat on Lightburn a... (in the comments)
This Lightburn Forum also discusses alternate z-axis control and another commenter provides a similar macro (goes to a different x-y coordinate):
WeCreat: Using Lightburn Starter Guide - LightBurn Hardware Compatibility / GRBL - LightBurn Software Forum
2. If anyone knows a macro to get a lop power fire for framing and positioning - I can only get the autofocus laser to fire. Trying the fire button or fire with framing locks my unit up.

[@Firecul]

The lbdev file from wecreat's website already has the focus macro there so it's programmed to button one in the console, obviously you can change the x and y coords to whatever you want. If you want to focus in the corner every time for example.
Frame+Fire fails for me also, I just use the pointer to do the framing. With the X:-12 Y:-18 laser pointer offset and that works fine for me.
I would have liked to have camera functionality in lightburn but most of the time I can just frame to the size of my stock and line it up that way. More manual but it does work fine.

[@Firecul]

You can use M15S1 to turn the extraction fan on (if you still had it of course) and M15S0 to turn it off again.
I was using these to continue exhausting the air after a cut had finished so the fumes were fully pulled out. Personally I thought it wasn't on long enough and this was an easy thing to add.

[@emberwoodandcrafts-thomastritt]

Good info to know. Thank you for sharing!